Hey everyone! This is the second in our new monthly series, announcing our upcoming schedule and catching you up with all things Naffy! We've had a crazy month with lots of new awesome things and we couldn't be more excited for the coming of Spring time and more of the Year of Naffy!

Over the past month we've done tons of shows outside the confines our our wonderful Riot theater! Not only did we get accepted to our first festival, The NYC Improv Fest hosted by the PIT, but also were asked to open for a wonderful new indie team called Poseidon and play in Comedy Lab, both of which were at ImprovBoston. In the next month we'll also be opening for the Con Men, and playing at ImprovBoston's Harold Night. Being asked and accepted to perform across the city has been a great experience for us.

As already mentioned, we had a huge Naffy trip to NYC where we performed at The Pit Loft as a part of the NYC Improv Festival. We were able to use one of Jeff's old connections to do a workshop with John Murray of Death by Roo Roo and Goat. Since that workshop, we've gone back to doing a pure monoscene and working on our improv craft which has been intensely rewarding. We all got to meet and perform for our friends and family down in NYC which was also a really great time. All in all, I think Naffy made the most of its NYC trip.

Our shows continue to succeed and be well attended. We've had a few new press releases including being featured in Boston Magazine which caught us by surprise. Reservation numbers and butts in seats have both steadily been on the climb. We've introduced new concessions and Buie is now trying to make home made cookies for each show. We've been so thankful to have a host of talent continue to open for our show, and we've loved being able to give Summer Boyfriend, Midy Zevlin, The Gorge and 20 Minute Movie a fantastic and loving JP audience to perform for.

More than all of this though we just have loved to continue to put on a sold out, and extremely funny show in Jamaica Plain. We're feeling more at ease in our little theater, and our shows have showcased that confidence week in and week out. Thank you to every audience member who has come to any of our shows. Thank you to every team and performer who has come to open for us. Thank you, still, to the wonderful Joe Gels who is the AD of the Riot and has continued to believe in what we're trying to do. And from just me, thank you to Jeff, Marissa, Ben and Andrew for giving me a group that feels like an absolute blast to be a part of.

On that note, here is our April schedule! Reserve your Free tickets now!

In a change of pace from our usual style of openers, Naffy is excited to announce that we will be bringing the improv group "20 Minute Movie" to our show. Most true improv geeks know that Del Close invented the Harold, but he also had two other famous formats that were created, one of which was "The Movie." This format was intended to allow improvisers to create through committed use of techniques including cuts, shot types, and camera movement an actual movie for the audience. Key to the format is commitment to the movie narrative itself and avoiding easy jokes and laughter. The humor comes from the actors dedication to the seriousness of the form and their attempt to craft a show that could pass for an actual film. Ben Gibb, who has performed with The Gorge, decided to put together a team in order to perform this format and we thought the idea was fantastic. So come out tomorrow night at 10pm to see Ben Gibb's "20 Minute Movie" starring Pat Kearnan, Kristina Stapelfeld, Teddy Meyers, Ashley Voltz, Andrew Barlow, Taylor Cotter, and Ian Dyer.

Naffy just got back from our first festival! We were able to perform at the NYC Improv Festival hosted by the PIT. We performed at the PIT Loft, and it was well and truly a blast. Over the weekend we drove up and down together, ate our way through Chinatown, enjoy a Ladies of the PIT set, saw two UCB shows, got fabulously drunk at Triple Crown, had an amazing three hour workshop with John Murray of UCB Weekend teams Death by Roo Roo and Goat, killed a fantastic set at The PIT LOFT where we had a monoscene at the top of the Eiffel Tower, enjoyed burgers with friends and family, and then drove our way home. It was amazing! So check out some photos of our set!-Ian

This weekend was awesome. We went to NYC to perform in the PIT improv festival and got to hang out with a butt-load of friends. I think Ian will post on some more details about the trip. We also got to see some UCB shows (GOAT, Grandma's Ashes) as well as take a workshop with my old indie coach JOHN MURRAY (Goat, Roo Roo). We went over a lot of things, but one thing that helped me personally was how to handle crazy/fantastical things in a monoscene.

The best thing I learned personally, was to "lean into" the craziness. What does that mean? It's probably best explained via the actual scene we did during the workshop.

So a scene started with 2 brothers throwing change into a pond, both wishing for good luck with their SAT exams. Eventually after "tens of dollars" was put into the pond a genie appeared. After some initial reaction to the genie, a cop eventually came in and did the usual "what are you kids doing in here!?" thing. At this point John stopped the scene and said that the cop move really lowered the fun and energy of the scene, since it went from kids to genie to cop. In other words, it went from reality to fantasy, back to reality.

Instead, John suggested that once something as crazy as a genie appears, you've got to keep it going for the energy of the show. He suggested we have witch come out or a leprechaun, and they also can grant wishes and maybe they have tension with genies. In other words, once something as crazy as a genie comes out, it basically shifts the entire base reality up to a world where now genies can exist. So if you bring in a cop, it kind of "down shifts" the base reality down to a less "heightened" world. This basically is a buzzkill to a show's energy.

The better approach is if we're now in a world where genies can exist, then other fantastical things must now exist and now they are "normal" characters. I specifically say that they are "normal" because they can still be grounded characters, even though they are fantasy characters. So when we eventually did this, we found out that the witches think that all genies are swindlers, and genies think witches are back stabbers, and we had this big mapping game of racism on fantasy characters. At this point, the monoscene can continue, but now we have this shifted reality. Otherwise, you do the same stuff: you find games/relationships/characters just as you would with a normal monoscene, but instead of normal humans, you have these grounded fantasy characters that can do all of the same stuff normal people do.

My overall lesson was this concept of a "shifted base reality" and that even though we're playing fantasy characters, they can still be grounded and have fun games. I think this approach is really useful for a monoscene because you can't just swipe a scene after a crazy character pops in, you have to learn how to play with the crazy over a 25 minute show. I just have to remember that even though I am playing a freakn' mythical genie, I can still be a grounded character where I can still be annoyed, have an overbearing mother, become sad, or angry. Me being a genie is just an external label, as I can still have all of the same normal human traits I am so used to playing.

Naffy is very excited to be welcoming The Midy Zevlin to come open for us this Friday, March 18th, at 10pm at the Riot. When we were putting together a list of the groups and teams we'd like to have open for us, we unanimously agreed that the Midy Zevlin was on our wish list. When they first started over 2 years ago, they were a breath of fresh air at ImprovBoston. Starting with a dominating Cagematch run, this duo of Mike Zakarian and Andy Devlin, played with with such a joy, spirit, and love for each other that it was impossible to not find yourself laughing at their hilarious sets. Quickly building a loyal following, they became the first duo in Studio 40 history. When Mike left for New York, they still made time to do festivals, shows and even corporate workshops. Now, with a new monthly show at ImprovBoston, the Midy Zevlin continue to show the comedy feats they are capable of and we could not be more excited to have them opening for us tomorrow. Be sure to reserve your FREE tickets now, because this show is sure to be fantastic.

This week, we at Naffy, are so happy to welcome The Gorge back to open for our show. This team spits bullets, pulls no punches, and will kick your ass up and down the street. The Gorge is a Fine Line produced team starring Rachel Von Ahn, Rosena Cornet, Ben Gibb, Joe Morone, Spencer Curry, and Pat Kearnan. They've been performing shows for the better part of a year, and have kept it sleazy on stage for us, at the Riot, at the Milky Way, and in Harold Night's special slot. If you love them as much as we do, then you can check out the Fine Line Comedy show at the Riot on 3/26 at 10pm. But before you do that, be sure to reserve your FREE tickets to see them open for "My Terrible Ex!" this Friday March 11th at 10pm.

So our Naffy show has been doing very well, especially in the audience department. The truth is it's not really an accident. I've been producing indie improv shows for the past 10 years from Sf, to NYC, and now to Boston. The most successful endeavor was in SF with the creation of Endgames Improv, which I co-founded with some awesome dudes. But enough about my past. So what did Naffy do that was so different? How do we get so many people? Here are a few of the lessons I've learned over the years:

1. Define your show goal. If you just want to do a show for practice so that your indie team can get some good reps in, then recognize that. You aren't trying to raise money, you aren't trying to get consistent packed houses (although that would be nice), you aren't even trying to build a reputation. You just want to practice. This is fine, and it is totally great.

If this is your goal, I recommend you stuff your show with as many groups as possible (up to 3 longform teams) and then charge the absolute minimum you can get away with (free if possible). This maximizes getting people to your show so you can have a fun time with your friends.

If your goal is to actually produce a real show, with consistent full houses, build a reputation, and maybe make some money (a very small amount), then recognize that at the core of all of this, you need a good product. You are now leaving pure artsy-land, and you are entering commercial land. Fundamentally the show (or product) you are selling, must be good. Otherwise, nobody will come see your show. This requires a lot of work, commitment, and a team effort. This is where Naffy lives.

2. Get a good team. I'm of the opinion that, like any performance art, it's all about talent. Not everybody can become a world class improviser, so be selective when creating a team. Don't just choose your friends. Choose people you'd love to be on stage with. Secondly, choose people who want to be on your team. If you have to convince them via arduous discussions/emails etc, just let it go. Tell them the overall team vision/show, and if they don't say yes immediately, get out of there.

Then, you need a coach/director. This is hard in small markets (not NYC, Chicago, LA), so I understand if this isn't an option. But if there's someone you like out there, ask him/her to coach you. I also recommend paying them. It forces them to be more professional and consistent. This is especially true if you are producing option 2 from above.

Lastly, you need to practice and get good. Give your team at least a month or two of just pure weekly practices before even trying a self-produced show. Fundamentally, your show has to be good and funny. If this is not true, then nothing else matters.

3. Marketing. I think this is where Naffy sets itself apart. There are a lot of talented indie teams out there. The difference? We go all out on marketing. Marketing is more complex than just making a facebook event and inviting friends. That's a nice starting point, but gets you zero non-friend audience. Here's the break down:

3a) Show time/price. This is a huge part. Recognize that Friday/Saturday nights are "prime time" and everything else is crap. So if you are on a crap day, your prices better insanely low (as in: FREE). If you are on a prime time slot, I recommend still staying cheap, probably around $5-$10, no more. What does Naffy do? We do both FREE and we are on a primetime night, thus we are maximizing audience as a tradeoff for money. But that's okay because none of us get paid anyway.

You also need regularity. The best is a weekly show, so you can just simply say "FRIDAYS AT 10PM" It's a lot easier than saying "FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH" There's this thing of momentum with audience branding awareness, and if a show isn't weekly, it's hard to build momentum of the show. A monthly show might as well just be 12 isolated shows. Nobody will remember that the shows are even related. I know this is not easy to do, but I'm just telling you the best case scenario. We got lucky with Naffy that the Riot was open to us doing this, and we are very grateful to them. If you can't secure a weekly slot, then just take what you can get. But always have your eye open for that weekly spot.

3b) Show hook. Just naming your show after your team name is probably the absolutely worst idea for a show title. Nobody knows who you are and a flier that has your random improv team's name is complete garbage to the non-improvisor. What you need is some sort of a hook. Why would someone off the street be interested in seeing your show? What is it about? At the UCB they somewhat cracked this puzzle via interview shows, such as "Your Fucked Up Family", "What I Did for Love," "Shitty Jobs," and I think they had some about terrible roommates. Naffy basically does just this with our "Your Terrible Ex!" show. It's also the show that catapulted the Endgames improv theater. You need something catchy, easy to understand, and simple. I know it may sound gimmicky, but you have to do it.

​3c) Fliers. Make good fliers. Don't just make something in word and do a screen capture. Browse other show fliers, copy things you like and what you didn't like. Spend a few hours learning drawing software from Youtube. I recommend Inkscape, it's free and awesome. I also recommend downloading cool fonts. There are a million cool fonts that are free. You can see the text in our fliers are all cool looking. I just used fonts that I found.

3d) Post Everywhere. Don't be lazy here. Post your flier, show hook, and a brief blurb on every event calendar you can find. And keep on doing this for each show that you have. Post on twitter, facebook, etc. Just go freakn' nuts.

Okay this was a really long post. Hopefully this will be a helpful starting point. There's a lot more, maybe I'll make a follow-up post, but this is just step 1. Good luck!

We are so excited to welcome Summer Boyfriend back to the Naffy show! This wonderful team performed in our second show at our new home to a huge audience and absolutely blew us away. We knew we had to get them back whenever we could, and we were so happy they could make it. Ben Scurria, Holly Tarnower, Ari Stern, Jeff Perry, and Jackie Arko are incredibly talented performers that combine to give you a rewarding and excellent comedy show. So come on out to see them open for us this Friday March 5th at 10pm at the Riot theater! Reserve your FREE tickets now!

Hey guys, Ben here. When I signed up to do a blog post, I, likely to to my shortcomings as a writer, had a hard time keeping my shit to a polite length. I’ve broken up my musings (many of which are unfinished) into a few posts that I hope to get out over the coming weeks. Also, it should be known that this post tends toward the esoteric: OBLIGATORY NERD ALERT.

One perpetual anxiety of any performer is whether the audience is getting it. The funny stuff is easy; humans make a sound to let you know something is funny. But the show? The edits? The stage conventions? What's the litmus test? Granted, I don’t think you will get a ton of laughs from an audience who doesn’t know what is going on onstage, but how often do we think audiences are momentarily lost due to something as simple as a sweep edit?

This churning of thought is fairly typical for those of us who enjoy unpacking improv or suffer from some amount of anxiety (that Venn Diagram is pretty much a circle). This particular post was prompted by a question from my dad. Hugh Walsh saw me improvise (possibly for the first time? sorry if I got that wrong, Dad..) this past week and had a question about the mechanics of the show…

In the show, I played a character who would request a sidebar periodically. I would ask another character to join me downstage while we had a conversation within earshot of the audience and other players, though (through some disbelief suspension) OUT of earshot of the other characters onstage. It’s a pretty easy way to create some tongue-in-cheek dramatic irony: fun for the whole family.

Afterwards, the dadster asked me a very fair question: “Did they teach you that sidebar thing in improv class?”

In all seriousness, his question gave me an opportunity to reflect on the conventions we use in improv...

(Oh my gosh, guys; In the actual question scenario with my father, I reflected out loud with him in discussion form. Can you imagine if he had asked me that question, and I had greeted him with a pensive gaze out a rainy window? Jiminy…)

(Parenthetical asides are quickly becoming a convention of this post.)

We ARE taught stage conventions in improv class. And it’s a strange list. The sweep edit, the tag out, the scene paint, the (freeze?) clap, the sliding (revolving?) door, and the cascade are just a few of a list that generally doesn’t get too much longer. Much of them are more influenced by film (arguably TV) than theater (despite improv being a primarily live medium? A subject for a different day). Some conventions are ubiquitous in improv without being taught. ‘Sidebar’ could totally be a convention that gets on a curriculum (trust me, it gets used often enough; I’m probably the bajillionth improviser to use it) and probably does live on some internet list of things to do on stage while improvising. It’s easy, it’s fun, and the audience can follow it.

So how do we approach teaching or determining typical conventions? It has something to do with what an audience can follow or pick up on. Depending on where you think the proverbial cart and the horse are (or if you’re feeling more organic/hippy-dippy), it also has to be something that the ensemble can agree to quickly, even without speaking about it (hypothetically:

When I walk downstage with another character and tell them something in a stage whisper, I think the ensemble will understand that a third character onstage can’t hear me.

...is easier to understand than...​When I swept the scene chanting ‘Rashomon’, I think the ensemble will understand that the previous scene was not EXACTLY reality but rather a memory as related by one of our characters in a more real passage time.

) in the hopes the audience can follow it.

At the end of the day, conventions have to live in group mind. Conventions through group mind CAN be predetermined (though now I think I’m opening up a semantical can of worms):a common predetermined convention where a group agrees they’re going to attempt to create a series of comic scenes punctuated by sweep edits. OR they can be improvised: a common improvised convention might be that when I approximate your onstage character’s voice OFFstage, I’m speaking your character’s internal monologue.

How predetermined you make your conventions v. how improvised is often a discussion an ensemble has to have as they get further into their work together. Especially those working on a unique form. More on what I think are the benefits and drawbacks are on predetermining convention in the next installment…​

The cornerstone of game-based improv is actually finding the freakn' game. This is a major obstacle with most people new to this method. Perhaps it's best to define, what does "game" in a scene even mean?

The best definition I've seen that is all-encompassing, but kind of general, is the following: the game of the scene is the thing in the scene that is funny. I suppose the next question is: How do I know what is funny?

So the textbook UCB method is to first start by looking for the "unusual thing." Usually the unusual or weird behavior in a scene will lead to a funny concept. Let's say there's a scene about waiting in line at the movie theater. You could just do a scene that mimics reality 100% where you stand there making small talk and slowly moving down the line. That's a pretty boring scene with nothing happening, although that is 100% realistic.

Instead, lets say you're waiting line line but then discover that your friend ordered a bunch of popcorn, candy, and soda. Boom. There's the unusual thing. Now we have to apply the "if that's true, what else is true" formula, in which case we discover that the friend likes to act as if the theater is his home. Meaning he could start putting on pajamas, ask his mom to drop off some food at the theater, etc. The game has now become "guy who acts as if the theater is his home".

A great exercise to practice this technique is by doing scenes with the key phrase "I think it's weird that you..." When someone in the scene says that line, the improvisor is really saying "Hey, I found something weird, I think there might be a game here" To which the other player should try to get on the same page and hone in on the game.

For example, in the movie scene above, the first player could say something like "I think it's weird that you bought so much food." The second player could then say "Oh yea, I like to eat a lot, just like when I'm at home..." Then the game can be played from there.